Diy Project: soapylove

i’m not normally a big soap person- or halloween person for that matter. but lately i’ve been overwhelmed by requests for halloween craft projects. i know, already? but tons of you are looking for ways to get ready for the holiday so i was happy to see this fun printed soap tutorial from debbie at soapylove. i’m more of a liquid soap girl, but i thought these printed bars were a fun and tasteful way to bring halloween decor into the house without breaking out those talking witches that hang from people’s doors. i’d like to do one that’s a simple black cat silhouette that would be one part halloween, one part silhouette love and one part homage to my fuzz buds. until i figure out how to do that, HERE is the tutorial from debbie. happy soap-ing!
[ps: if you're looking for more fun online tutorials, sara at minimega has a whole slew of fun paper-related projects. click here to check them out]

Supplies for 2 bars of soap: (you can get everything from Bramble Berry except for transfer sheet which is from Fancy Flours)

8 oz of clear soap base
Silver mica
Black oxide (optional)
Pepperberry fragrance oil (or any you like, but this has a really nice spicey scent)
Heavy duty octagon mold (or any flat faced mold you have)
"Floral Scroll Black" chocolate transfer sheet from Fancy Flours
Knife, cutting board, scissors, rubbing alcohol in spray bottle, yadda yadda

1) Choose a design that has very little detail. Sketch it on paper first and make sure it will fit in your mold.
2) Cut your shape out of your transfer sheet. Be very careful to avoid touching the rough side, since it's very sensitive and can smudge easily.

3) Touch your finger into a drop of vegetable oil or liquid glycerin and apply a thin coat to the mold where you will put your design. Place your design, SMOOTH SIDE DOWN, into the mold and use a pencil to touch the transfer gently and make sure it's completely stuck down. You don't want any air pockets where the soap can sneak under.

4) Melt 6-8 ounces of clear soap base (depending on the capacity of your soap molds) by cutting soap base into small chunks (dice sized), and heat at full power in a microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until all remaining chunks are melted. Dissolve a pea sized amount of silver mica in a 1/4 teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and stir into melted soap. You can add a touch of black (dissolved in alcohol again) if you would like a deeper shade like I have. Stir in 3 mL of fragrance oil (completely a personal choice. Use more or less!)
5) LET SOAP COOL A LOT! You need to pour this super super cool. If a skin is forming on the surface, that's good! It should be between 110-115 degrees. Now pour into your mold, but pour at the edge of the mold so the soap runs over your design. Do not pour directly onto the transfer.

6) Allow soaps to harden completely overnight. Unmold by inverting mold and pushing on the back with your thumbs until soaps pop out. Gently pry an edge of the plastic up and peel off. Voila!
You can wrap these soaps in Saran Wrap and close the ends at the back with tape or a sticker, or put in a treat bag and tie tightly with a ribbon.
If you like this technique please check out more projects "in my book", or if you're in the Halloween spirit please check out my latest issue of Let's Get Soapy which is chock full of soapy tricks and treats! Thanks!

 
Halloween Tutorial - Soap Slime! 
 
 

 

Last night my nieces came over and I had the perfect project! Ever since I watched this great YouTube video by LactoseOverdose on how to make soap jelly (like Lush), I've been dying to try it. Plus I had a bunch of soap eyeballs that have been staring at me. They needed a home.

This creepy project is super easy and perfect for Halloween. Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup water
1 packet powdered gelatin
1/2 cup of liquid soap (I used a liquid soap base since it was unscented and uncolored)
liquid colorant
fragrance oil
1 teaspoon table salt
cups, jar, or a glass pan
soap eyeballs or other creepy objects (optional)

 
Now:


1) Gather your favorite ghouls. I had the Jewelry Box colorant kit and Candy Jar fragrance kit, so they spent some time choosing their favorites. (I made 2 batches and let the kids pair up. This recipe is for one batch)
2) Place the gelatin powder in a bowl. Meanwhile, bring the water to a boil. Stir water into gelatin until powder is dissolved. Stir in liquid soap.
3) Add colorant. For green I used 1 drop of turquoise and 4 drops of yellow. Now add a few drops of fragrance oil. The droppers on the kit bottles are so great for kids since they make it easy to control the drops, plus they're really fun!
4) Stir in the salt until dissolved. Put creepy objects into cups or jar and pour in soap (it is lukewarm at this point). Or you can pour soap into a glass pan.

5) Put soap into fridge for several hours or overnight. It's fun to cut it up into cubes and scoop out, which become single use soaps. Or you can use a fork and shred it into wormy noodles and pile up in a bowl. My eyeballs made the bottom of my slime a little white but it adds to it's grossness!

If you like this project or are looking for more soapy Halloween inspiration, check out the Fall issue of Let's Get Soapy! There is glow in the dark soap, soap painting, using juice cans for a mold, and a lot more.

Have fun!
 

When I went to check out her soaps, I was really impressed! She not only made the full skeleton like I did, but she also has this cool skull version (pictured above). I spotted the soapy eyeballs, too, but with added red veins - super creepy and awesome!
Thank you so much Miranda for contacting me, and thanks for doing such an amazing job with the projects!
I love hearing from all of you when you try out a project from my book, my blog, or the Soap Queen. Please keep me posted!